Patterned fabric and method of producing the same



Patented May 14, 1940 UNITED STATES;

PATENT OFFICE PATTERNED FABRIC AND LIETHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME Fridolin Hefti, Herisau, Switzerland, assignor to the firm Aktiengesellschaft Cilander, Herisau,

Switzerland No Drawing. Application September 7, 1937,

Serial No. 162,759. In Switzerland September 2 Claims. (01. 8-115) reserve protecting against the action of acid and subjecting the fabric after the drying to a transparentizing treatment with mineral acid, this being described in the U. S. Patent No. 1,258,225.

By this means the non-reserve-treated fabric portions become transparent and stiff, whereas the reserve-treated portions retain their original 15 aspect, that is, remain soft and opaque after the reserve has been washed out, due' to not having been subjected to the action of the acid.

It has further already been proposed to use instead of an impenetrable reserve a cellulosecontaining solution, for example organic cellulose esters, to which a pigment has been added, the transparentizing acid acting through this composition, so that the portions of the fabric printed therewith are stiffened also.

It has now been found that, if instead. of using water soluble reserves, a celluloid-containing composition, containing a white pigment, and which is not affected by the transparentizing swelling agent, is used and then the fabrics, which have been printed in patterns with this resist are directly subjected to the action of a transparentizing swelling agent, that is by a known mineral acid treatment, pattern effects are obtained on the fabric which show a much more defined and sharper optical contrast against the transparentized background than those resulting from the above-mentioned known methods. This surprising effect is due to the fact that, on the one hand, the acid is completely kept clear of the reserved fabric portions during the transparentizing treatment, that is, prevented from transparentizing the fabric at these portions even in the least, and, on the other hand, the white pigment incorporated in the Celluloid resist contributes to increase the density of the respectivefabric portions, while the Celluloid print itself is not affected at all and does not become yellow as does, for instance, an albumine-reserve.

Example A mercerized and preliminarily treated cotton fabric is printed with a paste of the following composition:

Grams Titanium dioxide 200 Alcohol 200 Diethyleneglycol (C2H4OHOC2H4OH) 60 Solution of Celluloid in volatile solvents 540 Printing paste 1000 The product is a pasty mass which is insoluble in water. Subsequent to the drying of the printed fabric the latter is subjected to a process for producing transparentness by means of a treatment with swelling agents in the following manner:

The fabric is treated in spread condition thereof at a temperature of 0 with sulphuric acid of 52 B., measured at 15 C., during 12 seconds. The sulphuric acid is then removed by washing with water, whereupon the goods are subjected in stretched condition to a mercerizing process by means of caustic soda lye of 28 to 32 B. Subsequently, the fabric is washed with water and dried in stretched condition.

In treating a fabric as described in the preceding example, very contrastive pattern effects are produced such as are not possible to obtain by means of the methods wherein water soluble reserves are used which are washed out after having been subjected to a process for producing transparentness.

Instead of titanium dioxide, any other suitable white pigments, that is, insoluble substances of inorganic or organic nature, as, for example, zinc White, baryte white etc. may be used.

Various changes and modifications may be made in my invention without departing from its principle, by simply applying customary practice and established knowledge of the art to the present disclosure.

What I claim is:

1. The process of preparing a patterned cel1u-' losic fabric which comprises printing on a white cellulosic fabric with a Celluloid-containing, liquid composition which, when dried, is unaffected by a swelling agent capable of transparentizing the cellulosic fabric when contacted directly therewith, said composition also containing a white pigment, drying the composition at the printed portions of the fabric to solidify the Celluloid on said printed portions, and then directly contacting the fabric with the transparentizing swelling agent, without any intermediate applications of material thereto so that the yarns of the unprinted portions of the fabric are acted on by said agent, so that the printed portions of the fabric are unaffected by the swelling agent while 'the unprinted portions are transparentized thereby, whereby a pronounced contrast between the printed portions and the transparentized fabric background is obtained.

2. A cellulosic fabrichaving a pattern formed thereon, the pattern being formed by non-transparentized portions of the fabric on which a reserve containing Celluloid and a, white pigment is printed, which reserve when dried is resistant to a transparentizing swelling agent capable of transparentizing the yarns of the original fabric when applied directly thereto, the unreserved portions of the fabric being transparentized by 

